


It all began at camp.

by AnaKN2004, Anatheshrimp (AnaKN2004)



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempt at Humor, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, I Ship It, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Mutual Pining, Mystery, Oblivious Ryan Bergara, Paranormal, Pining, Ryan Bergara Loves Shane Madej, Shane Being an Asshole, Shane Madej Is So Whipped, Shane Madej Loves Ryan Bergara, Skeptic Shane Madej, Slow Burn, Summer Camp, i dont know what im doing at this point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23734072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaKN2004/pseuds/AnaKN2004, https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaKN2004/pseuds/Anatheshrimp
Summary: Richard looked at his notepad and spoke: "Well Ryan, you will be counselor for camp thirteen along with-""Hey Bergara"  a voice chirped behind him.Ryan silently cursed 'oh no please not him' -"- Shane Madej" Richard finished.And that's when Ryan knew exactly that 13 was a very unlucky number...This was going to be one hell of a summer.OR : When Ryan bergara, A teen who belived the paranormal decided to work as a camp counselor in presumably haunted camp 'Waverly hills' with his friend, he certainly hadn't expected to also have a certain annoying skeptic to be there too. When weird things start to happen Shane and Ryan try to figure out a reason for  camp Waverly's mysterious and mishap ridden past.OR: The summer camp AU no one asked for-[ tags will be added as the story progresses :)) ]
Relationships: Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 29
Kudos: 81





	1. waverly hills summer camp.

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! This is the first fanfiction I have ever written and I hope you like it!  
> Since my lazy ass is stuck in quarantine I will try to update as frequently as I can..  
> I was inspired by the parent trap for some reason...IDK  
> Happy hundredth buzzfeed unsolved episode! XD  
> Stay safe everyone!  
> -Anna.

It was a nice summer day, 18-year-old Ryan hopped out of the bus squinting at the sun. He scanned the surroundings taking in the fresh air and lush green trees, his eyes landed on the old building and suddenly a chill shot up his spine. The dark, dreary and gloomy building stood only a little far off from where Ryan did, slightly shrouded by mist. An old sign hung over the door reading 'WAVERLY HILLS CAMP'.

Ryan jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder, "Woah Ryan chill" his friend Brent laughed. Ryan glared at Brent and shook his hand off, he once again looked at the dreary camp and said:

"This is it Brent:,The haunted Waverly hills camp..." and as expected Brent only rolled his eyes and shook his head

"Ryan-"

"Look it is haunted alright?!" Ryan said groaning

"Like the house of that poor old lady that you've been terrorizing for the past month?"

"That's completely _different_ that was a hunch-"

Brent just laughed and shook his head "whatever you say man.." he glanced at the camp, shuddering " It is kind of creepy though.."

Ryan squinted at the camp " the most haunted place of the camp is supposed to be the oldest building, it was supposed to be old asylum and later a tuberculosis hospital...."

Brent just 'hmmed' looking at the camp" you do know that we're here to have fun and supervise little children?"

"I know" Ryan sighed wistfully " It wouldn't hurt to go ghost hunting later though "

Brent laughed " Well keep me out of it dude, I am not going into another creepy old house with you-"

"Pleaseeee brent?" Ryan whined " just this once? imagine if we caught any real evidence of the paranormal! that would be amazin-"

"No Ryan" Brent replied laughing " you're gonna have to go ghost hunting yourself.."

"Hunting for ghouls little guy?" a laugh caused them to turn behind in search of the source. A tall teenager who was their age stood behind them. He was very tall with shaggy brown hair and wore a cocky smile.

"Fuck off Madej" Ryan replied glaring at him

"Or what boogara?" 

"its _berga-_ "

"Come on you guys! can we just not have your believer vs skeptic showdown right now?" Brent said exasperated 

Shane throws his hands up conveying a silent 'fine' and Ryan just huffs angrily and looks away 

" Take care there short stuff, wouldn't want a demon to lock you up in an old cupboard " Shane laughs and walked towards the camp.

" _GOD_ I hate him! " Ryan grumbles glaring at Shanes retreating figure

 _"I know you do_... " Brent rolled his eyes

"Why on earth did he want to spend his summer at this camp too?" Ryan pouted while Brent just shook his head with a small smile 

Ryan and Shane were not friends. It was common news for everyone who studied in Buzzfields college. Maybe it was because they had such conflicting opinions. Shane took any opportunities to ridicule Ryan for his belief in the supernatural and Ryan thought Shane was a bighead who was far too skeptical. 

"We should head to the cabins," Brent said glancing at his watch, Ryan nodded.

* * *

Ryan Bergara was extremely curious about the paranormal and crime. he devotedly made case files about different paranormal cases and criminal acts that have baffled the whole world. he founded a club unsolved where he discussed baffling and bizarre cases of crime and paranormal.

Shane Madej was a very friendly guy, he was just very skeptical and didn't believe in theories that made no sense to him...

He especially didn't believe in _ghosts_ of all things

However, there is one thing he found intriguing :

Namely - _Ryan bergara_

He loved annoying the hell out of Ryan, it was a great way for him get some laughs, but even he couldn't deny that Ryan was a nice guy even if he was obsessed with ghouls and demons

He just wanted to know Ryan better but they did not have a good first impression and Ryan couldn't stand the sight of him 

So what better way than to join the Ryan's little club...

Of course, Ryan went all slaw jacked and wide-eyed when he walked in the doors of the old music room that they used for the club

He had rolled his eyes at Ryan's accusatory: 'what are _**_you_ **_doing here Madej' and wrote his name on the almost blank sign up sheet,

He then turned to Ryan with a smug grin and said ' Joining the ghouligans of course'

That was the day before summer began...

He overheard that Ryan and Brent had decided to come here has counselors and he decided that he had nothing better to do anyways.

The look on Ryan's face when he saw Shane on the bus over to camp was _priceless_ and absolutely worth it.

Maybe he could patch things up with Ryan and get to know him if things go well..

Either way this was going to be _one hell of summer_ all right..

* * *

Ryan and Brent reached the more modern part of the camp, the part that was in use, the main Waverly hills building was in the center and there were may cabin surrounding it. Ryan looked around and spotted old dilapidated looking buildings slightly off the campsite.

"Those are the old Waverly hills buildings" a voice cut through his thoughts and he jumped. a blonde man wearing a tee-shirt with 'camp Waverly hills'

He had a tired smile and a frazzled look, making him look older than he probably was. He shook their hands

"Richard steel, owner and director of this camp," he said with a beaming smile "you must be some the new counselors ?" Brent and Ryan nodded 

"Great! let me show you kids, where you will be staying!" he said and motioned to them to follow him as they walked down a trail leading to a cluster of treehouse-like cabins.

As they moved about many camp helpers and other people rushed about here and there trying to set up activities and other arrangements before the campers arrived tomorrow.

Ryan and Brent chatted with Richard who told them, their duties and assigned them to their camps. Ryan excitedly asked Richard about the history of the camp and he replied to Ryans questions with equal enthusiasm:

"The camp has been around for so many years, I used to come here when I was a kid," Richard said fondly " It may be all gloomy-looking but trust me it's one heck of a place boys.."

Richard stopped and gestured to the old Waverly hills buildings

"however no kid should allow near the old buildings, they are off-limits alright? it's unsafe and old, someone could end up needing tetanus" he said with a wry smile. Brent gave Ryan a warning look and Ryan responded with a shrug

"There will be two counselors bunking in each cabin with the campers, there will 12 campers in each camp " Richard continued talking as he walked with the boys, they stopped in front of a cabin painted bright yellow.

A teen with glasses and wild curly immaculately styled hair stood in the front smiling, he waved at the three, Richard turned to Brent " Brent you will be the counselor of cabin 5 along with curly " Richard said patting brent on the back. 

"Come along Ryan," Richard said as he walked further. Ryan waved at Brent and followed and followed Richard. He took a moment to see around the camp and he walked.

Despite the gloomy atmosphere it was hustling and bustling with activity. 

He scanned the various shrubbery and foliage around him too, awed at the variety present .

The atmosphere was chilly despite it being summer. This was because the camp was surrounded by many mountains and hiking trails. 

Despite it all the camp still looked old and creepy, constantly shrouded by mist, the mess hall was situated at the front of the camp, it was the first thing that everyone saw while approaching the campsite.

it was renovated but the old architecture was untouched, it was supposed to be used as a small storage area and office for the old Waverly hills buildings.

Ryan was shaken out of his thoughts when Richard abruptly stopped in front of him. They had stopped in front of a lilac-colored cabin that said 13 on the front.

Richard looked at his notepad and spoke: "Well Ryan, you will be counselor for camp thirteen along with-"

 _"Hey Bergara"_ a voice chirped behind him.

Ryan silently cursed _'oh no please not him' -_

 _"-_ Shane Madej" Richard finished.

And that's when Ryan knew exactly that 13 was a very unlucky number...

_This was going to be one **hell** of a summer._

* * *


	2. The deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its the first day of camp!  
> what could possibly go wrong?

It rained that night because  _ of course _ nature had to mock Ryans luck

It was a little past midnight but neither boy was asleep. They both sat on opposite bunks in the corner of each cabin, Shane idly tapping the support beam of the bunk and Ryan staring blankly at the ceiling. The quite pitter-patter of the rain has filled the cabin 13, It was pretty ironic how deafening the silence was.

And Ryan couldn’t take it anymore...

“what exactly do you want madej?” he snapped

“what?” Shane sounded as though he had been expecting Ryan to ask this and that made Ryan all the more annoyed

“ you know what I'm talking about!” Ryan exclaimed frustrated “ annoying me at every opportunity, joining my club that you don’t even consider seriously, and now this?”

“ your hilarious when your pissed off” Shane shrugs and laughs when he sees Ryan give him the deadliest glare yet “ alright maybe I want to give it a chance..”

“ what?” Ryan asks confusion coloring his tone, Shane replies a heavy sigh “ _ ghouls  _ Ryan”

“ you want to give _ ghouls _ a chance,” Ryan says in disbelief “right”

“I'm serious”

“ well, can't you give them a chance without annoying me?”

“nope”

“I don’t get this Madej, what do you want from me exactly?” now hopping off from the bunk to face Shane.

“you want me to stop bugging you, little guy?” Shane said with that cocky grin that Ryan just wanted to punch off his face.

“ more than anything”

“ill tell you what let's make a deal if you can show me proof that anything paranormal exists by the end of this summer, ill leave you alone and never bug you again” Shane declared

“you'll leave unsolved too?”

“yes”

“deal,” Ryan said sticking out his hand, Shane eyed it in surprise before shaking it.

The rain outside grew impossibly louder….

* * *

The campers arrived the next morning. the campgrounds were filled with chaotic groups of noise and color. Shane and Ryan ushered the campers of cabin 13 into groups. Ryan glanced around seeing other counselors gathering their cabin members too. He spotted curly and brent laughing and trying to get their cabins attention, brent spotted Ryan and smiled and waved at him wh returned. He saw some female counselors who were mentoring the girls of the camp. He saw two of them, a girl with short hair named Jen and a blonde, petite girl named Ellisa helping the girls with their possessions.

Shane was explaining the rules and regulations of the cabin and distributing a few schedules to the campers. When they were both done settling in the campers Shane addressed them “ does anyone have any questions ?”

One boy with messy blonde hair named Marcus raised his hand “ when can we go eat ?” all the others laughed

Shane smiled “ we will be heading into the mess hall in 10 minutes guys, freshen up kids!”

After all the campers had disappeared into the cabin Shane turned to Ryan with a shit-eating grin “so far no ghosts buddy!”

Ryan rolled his eyes “ patience you sasquatch..”

Shane turned his gaze to the old building in the distance “so what's the story behind it?”

“well” Ryan began squinting at the old hospital “ when the camp first began, there was this girl named Willow who decided to go explore the old building because she heard it was haunted by all the people who died suffering in it, she and her sister Sallie snuck out at night and headed there by themselves” Ryan paused and turned to Shane who was looking at him intently

“No one knows what happened exactly but they all heard her scream and rushed to help. they found her lying dead on the bottom of the lake right next to the building.”

“And her sister?”

“she was in the building screaming and acting strangely.”

“strange?” Shane asked curiously, Ryan shrugged.

“she was admitted to an asylum, later on, she was completely _traumatized_ ” Ryan shivered slightly

Shane hmmed his brows furrowed thoughtfully “Are you going?”

“going?”Ryan asked confused. Shane beckoned to the old building “ going to explore? Find some ghouls”

“I don’t know..” Ryan mumbled nervously “I mean look at the place!”

“so you rather I annoy you for the rest of your life?” Shane asked smiling

“NO fucking way” Ryan glared.

“so it's settled then” Shane smirked “ we are going ghoul hunting one of these days.

Ryan rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

It was a good first day, to be honest.

The campers mingled with each other and walked about the campground.they had their lunch at the mess hall amongst chaotic noise and laughter. The campers went about with their activities with their counselors and mostly got along with each other

They all sat around the big campfire and chatted in the evening and the day ended after the camp song had been sung.

Ryan sat with brent and Shane and talked with them. He watched as a boy named Dylan from his cabin ranted about something like acronyms and code languages to some other kids. The boy with messy blonde hair from earlier, Marcus was playing some sort of game with his friends

At some point, someone started playing music and everyone danced around the campfire. It was utter chaos and laughter. Ryan didn't like to dance much so he looked for any way to avoid doing so, he was just about to slowly sneak away when someone grabbed his hand-

"Going somewhere Bergara?" Shane yelled over the noise.

"Oh come on, i don't want to dance!" Ryan yelled in displeasure

"Just this once?" the former asked giving Ryan a childish pout.

"Oh, fine" Ryan rolled his eyes.

It ended up being kind of fun actually, Shane and brent ended up acting like idiots and doing some weird dance that had Ryan laughing.

Maybe, just _maybe_ Shane wasn't _that bad._

Ryan smiled at their antics and turned to check his watch, they should be ushering everyone to bed right about now.

Richard then announced that all campers and the counselors should head back to the cabin "Good night guys! don't forget to be in time for your activities!" he yelled waving after the group of separating campers.

Shane jogged to catch up to Ryan in the front of the line "Not a bad day huh?" he asked Ryan who nodded in response

"we are supposed to take the campers swimming to that lake tomorrow" Ryan said distractedly

"The one where the girl died?" Shane asked puzzled.

"yeah"

"didn't her death cause any problems to the camp? I mean I'm not sure the parents were too happy about that?"

"I mean not really.The camp had to shut down for a few months but it kept running as usual for the twenty years after that until now.. .," Ryan replied 

"So when are we going to go ghoul hunting?" Shane laughed, Ryan glared at him.

"We could always keep an eye out if there's anything suspicious near the lake"

"Alright then, the ghoul boys are on a mission!" Shane exclaimed making some kind of superhero pose with his hands. Ryan laughed incredulously "seriously? the ghoul boys?"

"Hey, you got a better name ryan?" Shane said in mock hurt.

They continued bantering childishly as they approached the cabin when they heard people yell in surprise from the cabin.

Ryan looked at Shane in shock who looked equally perplexed and they ran toward their cabin.

"what's wrong?" Shane yelled once they were inside

All of the campers just silently stood looking confused .

"guys?" Ryan asked confused looking around the room and the bunks and then it hit him.

"Shane! our sleeping bags are gone!" he exclaimed turning to look at shane "All of them! but how-?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like their summer got a lot more weirder XD
> 
> Hey guys its me! sorry it took this long to update!  
> thank you for the support, I really appreciate it!  
> stay safe and happy wherever you are! ~ (UwU) ~  
> -ANNA.


	3. the truth is dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( special thanks to my best friend Amy for proof reading this. You are awesome XD)

‘Well isn’t this a great day’ Ryan thought sarcastically as he stood in the middle of the campsite with Shane and the rest of the campers of cabin 13.

Soon after they’d found out someone broke into the cabin and stole all the sleeping bags Shane had run to inform Richard who had then worriedly then made them all assemble together while he tried to figure out who was responsible for the whole thing.

Ryan glanced out of the corner of his eyes at Shane who stood tensely, his arms crossed with a pensive expression on his face. He knew Shane would probably not even think that somethings up.  
Ryan had read too much about camp Waverly hills to brush it off as a camper playing a prank.  
He knew there was something wrong with the god dammed place…

That’s why he’d come there, for any shred of proof that he wasn’t absolutely crazy about everything.

Fine so maybe sometimes he was being irrational, but he wasn’t about this.

He looked at Shane once again then hesitantly called out-  
“Shane?”  
“What?” came the expected annoyed question.  
“Listen there’s something not right about the whole camp. Somethings up-”  
“I swear Bergara if you are about to suggest a ghost did this-” Shane mocked.

“No that’s not what I was about to say jeez” Ryan muttered in annoyance, "I thought you said you’d at least hear me out”  
“Guys!” they heard Richard faintly yell from a slight distance as he jogged towards them all “Somebody dumped all of the sleeping bags in the lake,” he said glaring.

“whoever it was better come clean right now or there will be very severe consequences when I find out who was behind it”  
Ryan could hear a slight tremble in Richards's voice weirdly enough. He looked almost- scared.  
Hushed murmurs rose in volume amongst the crowd. Shane looked at Ryan with a raised eyebrow, somehow conveying ‘I told you it was something normal Bergara’ and Ryan Just looked away feeling a bit exasperated.  
Richard silenced the crowd with a show of hand and sighed-  
“I’ll deal with this tomorrow, just go back to your cabins today, you guys can use the spare sleeping bags tonight...” he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration “you can leave now...”

As they walked towards the cabin it began to drizzle slightly, the whole air of the camp seemed dreary and cold and slightly unsafe. Shane glanced at Ryan walking, his face etched in thought.

Although he looked oddly adorable, Shane mentally groaned preparing himself for whatever crazy theory Ryan comes up with.  
Despite Ryan being an irrational conspiracy nutter, Shane had to admit there was something deeply endearing about the way he’d rant about even the craziest things. Something mysterious about the way that he mostly kept to himself despite being fairly well known. 

Ryan Bergara was something way beyond just a pretty face and a fairly optimistic attitude…  
Shane mentally groaned knowing that Ryan probably hates him more than anything in the world.  
I mean it’s not like he could just agree with Bergara about all of his absolutely crazy theories. Somebody had to call him out on his bullshit  
He forced himself to stare at the path ahead leading to their cabin and sighed softly-  
‘Isn’t this a great time to think about my pathetic crush on someone who hates me to all hell’-he thought mentally belittling himself.  
He briefly wondered who on earth managed to dump all the sleeping bags in the lake, before dismissing the question.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Obviously, the entire camp just had to know about the mishap the next day.

Shane was tired of hearing rumours about what could have happened, people were whispering and talking about it all over camp. Many of them looked mad that somebody could easily tamper with their belongings. Richard managed to pacify them by ensuring everyone that he would make sure stronger and safer bolts get installed.  
Shane was done and tired with the whole thing by the time a seventh kid asked him if the camp was haunted.

Haunted of all possible scenarios  
.  
‘Haunted? Really? I swear kids these days will believe anything’ he thought incredulously ‘did it cross anyone’s mind it could be a prank?’

“Look kid I don’t know where you got that from but there is nothing haunted here alright? he said, trying his best not to sound exasperated - “it was probably just some kid who didn’t want to be here and is really spiteful about it. We’ll figure out what’s going on soon enough alright?” he told the boy, who looked mildly disappointed in learning that the camp was in fact not ‘haunted’.

Why did he even want to spend his summer managing a bunch of kids at this camp again? He could be at home doing absolutely nothing whatsoever and feeling fairly content anyway.

“HEY, Madej! Listen up-”

Oh right, that’s why.  
God, why was he obsessed with this crazy dumbass. He’d probably believe someone if they told him they were half-alien.

“What Ryan,” he said, dragging the name out in slight annoyance.

“Look it about the incident last night-”

“If it’s some crazy dumb theory of yours I really do not want to hear your bullshit alright?”

“Shane look I’m serious alright? Just hear me out for fucks sake”  
Something in Ryan’s expression and golden brown eyes made Shane stop and stare. A second passed and then-

“Alright but you better be at least a little logical” 

“Oh- well trust me you’d want to hear this” Ryan said looking a bit surprised and smiling slightly

“I highly doubt that” Shane muttered and Ryan merely rolled his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back in the cabin, Shane spoke up-  
“So what’s the big deal about this whole thing about anyway? I mean it’s probably just some kid playing a prank.” He said watching Ryan as he pulled out his bag and began looking through it.  
“look,” Ryan said pulling out his laptop and switching it on, after a few moments he motioned at Shane to look at the display.  
Shane could see different news articles. All the headlines stood out starkly against the white screen-

‘GIRL FOUND DEAD IN LAKE WAVERLY HILLS’  
‘MYSTERIOUS FIRE AT SUMMER CAMP’  
‘7 INJURED DUE TO MYSTERIOUS FIREWORK EXPLOSION AT SUMMER CAMP’  
‘SEVERAL PEOPLE FIND THEIR POSSESSIONS MISSING AT CAMP’

Each headline seemed to grow more bizarre as Shane kept reading. He turned to Ryan in confusion and asked “why do parents keep sending their kids here then? How on earth is it still running” he asked.  
“It took me a lot of time to find these articles. There must have been some sort of cover-up” Ryan said with a grim expression “it closed up for a bit after the girl’s death. He then managed to open it back up. His family has owned this camp for some decades now. I think he’d be able to influence people to cover up something shady going on here...” he trailed off

“Well- ‘Shane glanced at the articles again “maybe it’s just them having really bad luck?”  
“Shane things like this have been going on for years and kids keep getting hurt. Don’t you think there’s at least something fishy going on here?”

“What are you going for Bergara?” Shane asked with a coy teasing smile “is the camp haunted? Cursed? Oh, no is there a little demon girl out there to get you?”  
“That’s not what I meant- " Ryan began blushing slightly from embarrassment.  
“Stop being such a big weirdo Ryan,”  
Shane said still teasing but suddenly Ryan tensed. And his whole demeanour changed.  
He looked hurt and slightly mad, as if Shane had slapped him or something  
“Fine I’m leaving then,” he said in a blank tone and stuffed his laptop back in the bag  
“if you think I’m such a weirdo” he mumbled and stalked towards the door leaving Shane an extremely muddled Shane to stare at his retreating figure.

“What on earth did I do to make him mad? he wondered out loud confused, looking at the ajar door from when Ryan left “what just happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated in such a long time oop-  
> I had a huge lack of motivation and inspiration :(  
> id love to read any comments you all have! It would help me grow as I'm pretty amateur at writing compared to all these talented folk out there XD.  
> stay safe and take care guys!  
> Much love,  
> \- ANNA  
> 


	4. Vicious waves.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I guess people don’t need to be all the same to be good friends”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I guess people don’t need to be all the same to be good friends”  
> PLEASE READ THIS; I would like to specify a few things to avoid confusion.  
> 1} the campers are of age group of 8 to 13, each cabin have kids of the same age group. Some cabins are assigned for the girls and the others for the boys.  
> 2} I have slightly edited my first two chapters to correct any grammatical error or plot error, I didn't change anything drastically except the ending of chapter two because it was wayyy to dramatic.  
> Also I've figured out the plot completely and decided on the number of chapters and I'm really happy I did xD  
> thank you so much for reading this! please leave a comment on your opinion I'd really love to read it :) (your comments give me so much motivation)  
> Much love to all of you and stay safe!  
> -ANNA  
> 

Ryan walked away from cabin 13, hurt and angry at Shanes blatant insult at him. He stalked past the many people moving about probably heading to their cabins or heading to their camp activities. He could hear Shanes stupid annoying voice calling him a weirdo all over and over in his head and he Ryan was so annoyed-

He knew Shane probably didn’t mean it in a seriously degrading way but it triggered something in him, he didn’t know why but he just thought that Shane would at least attempt to take him seriously.

Why did he even bother? He shook his head. He was so stupid to think anyone would take him seriously.

Ryan stood abruptly, he remembered all those times when he was younger, he was always the one eccentric kid. Other kids looked at him and laughed, pointed, and whispered behind his back telling each other what a weird freak he was.

‘ _That’s all I am- a weird crazy person’_ Ryan thought bitterly.

He’d always be odd, dumb Ryan to people no matter how much they seemed to like him-

He inhaled sharply trying to control his emotions, covering his face in his palms. He was who he was and he knew he couldn’t change that, but sometimes he just wished he was different-

“Are you okay?” a voice asked, interrupting his wallowing in self-pity. He turned around to search for the source of the question, to find Dylan from his cabin standing there, looking unsure.

The boy was squinting at him in concern, his head slightly tilted to one side.

“yeah I’m fine,” Ryan said giving him a shaky smile.

“Are you feeling lonely?” Dylan asked softly much to Ryan’s surprise “you can talk to me if you want to! I understand.”

Noticing Ryan’s questioning expression, he continued “Well uh, see nobody likes the same things I do. I really love puzzles and stuff like that but everyone here’s so- “he paused scrunching his nose “Outdoor-sy”

Ryan let out a surprised laugh at his comical expression “I’m fine Dylan” he paused “but yeah, it sucks when people don’t understand who you are and what you like” he said with the barest hint of a smile.

“I still made some cool friends though,” Dylan said smiling widely “they don’t understand why I love solving puzzles and learning stuff like that, but we get along well” he pulled out a small Rubix cube from the pocket of his jacket “Marcus even asked me to teach him how to solve the cube”

Dylan gave Ryan a soft smile “I guess people don’t need to be all the same to be good friends”

“That’s wonderful Dylan,” Ryan said smiling widely at the dark-haired boy. He quickly glanced at his watch “oh right we are supposed to be at the lake in a couple of minutes” he said ushering Dylan to come with him.

_The lake._ He didn’t want to go there. He felt unsafe despite knowing that they did make sure to strengthen the safety after all that had happened.

He shuddered involuntarily and tried to not think about it too much, walking a little bit faster to keep up with Dylan who was practically skipping ahead of him.

Ryan was avoiding him. Shane's heart sank when he saw that Ryan deliberately wouldn’t meet his eyes.

Fuck he screwed it up this time didn’t he?

 _‘Dammit, would it kill you to be nice this once Madej’ he_ mentally cursed.

They were standing near the lake. It was honestly a pretty nice and sunny afternoon. Along with cabin 13 was cabin 12, the counselors of cabin 12 Jen and Elissa were talking to some girls from their cabin. The lake looked beautiful albeit a bit green and murky. The sky overhead was clear and a pretty baby blue with some stray fluffy white clouds.

Richard Instructed them to be careful and not cross the lake after a certain point, which was marked with floating signs.

Shane kept stealing glances at Ryan, hoping to catch his eye to no avail. He was also quite unsurprisingly enraptured by how cute Ryan looked with his hair all messed up and ruffled. He had to stop himself from grinning goofily like some kind of a lovesick fool.

Richards booming voice shook him out of his dazed staring and he nearly jumped-

“Alright, have fun kids,” Richard said with a small smile “Remember to stay safe, I’ll be right around if you need me!" he gestured to a tall, athletic-looking women with pretty black curls and a cheerful smile “You may ask our lifeguard Ms. Aaliyah for any help or difficulty you have!

Shane noticed that Richard looked really tired and worried. He sighed softly, he hadn’t meant to get Ryan upset at him honestly, he _did_ think there was something slightly fishy about the whole thing Even if he didn’t want to admit it...

Ryan was not going to even try to attempt to talk with Shane at the moment, he wasn’t going to stand there like an idiot while Shane called him names.

He just stood with Elissa and Jen, idly listening to them chit chat. He kept an eye on the kids swimming. His blood chilled thinking about what happened here once and he felt very uneasy all of a sudden, watching the seemingly placid emerald lake.

“You know what I’m just going to go take a dip in the lake” Jen exclaimed suddenly enthusiastically “why don’t you guys come with me?”

Elissa shook her head “Sorry, I should probably go see if Richard needs any help, duties of an assistant, and what not” she said ending her sentence with an exaggerated pout.

 _Assistant? "_ Wait you’re his assistant? Since how long?" Ryan asked confused.

“Since the past 8 years or something,” she said, chuckling at Ryan’s bewildered expression at that she continued “before you ask, I’m only filling in the spot for cabin twelve's counselor because we were one person short” she explained smiling “Alright I better go!” she said waving them both a quick bye and heading away.

Ryan desperately wanted to ask her about everything she knew about the mishaps that have been occurring in the camp. Maybe later he could-

“Ryan c’mon join me- “Jen said tapping Ryan’s shoulder.

He looked at her beaming face and glanced at the lake out of the corner of his eyes “I don’t know Jen...” he answers hesitantly. Jen shook her head in mock exasperation-

“You’ve got to stop the pining dude, and come have some fun!”

 _“W-WAIT what-”_ Ryan sputtered, that was the last thing he’d expected her to say-

“you know over Shane,” she said shrugging nonchalantly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world “it’s kind of obvious you like him- “

“I do NOT like Shane, he is the most annoying asshole I’ve ever met” he huffed, very confused.

Jen raised an eyebrow smiling slowly, eerily reminding Ryan of the Cheshire cat-

“Sure, that’s why you’ve been brooding all the time and that’s why you keep looking at him because you _hate_ him” she continued before Ryan could interject “c’mon Ryan you can’t deny that you’ve most definitely checked him out at least once” she snorted in mirth when she saw Ryan blush and look away-

“I knew it,” she said triumphantly, Ryan rolled his eyes, his face still blushing Scarlett. Alright fine maybe Madej was kind of attractive, and yes he did check. Even with his stupid smug smile on his dumb although good looking face he couldn’t deny that Shane was easy on the eyes. He would not let his thoughts go there because as good looking as shane was, he was infuriating and drove Ryan nuts.

“If I agree to go swimming would you drop it" Ryan blurted embarrassed before Jen could say anything further.

“Alright, I'll drop it" she grinned “for now...” Ryan just shook his head with a small smile and followed her towards the lake.

Ryan felt the coolness of the water embrace him as he jumped in, he sighed at the refreshing feel of it. The day wasn’t very warm, despite it being a sunny day but the chill of the water was very welcome anyway. He noticed Shane swimming a little further away, his floppy wet brown hair sticking to his face in a silly way. He kept glancing at the shore as if looking for Ryan.

 _‘Dammit,’_ he thought his cheeks reddening. He did not want to face Shane right now. Ryan swam more further away from where most of the people were, trying to focus on the water and not about Shane.

When he resurfaced, he found that he was closer to the Waverly hills hospital and he could see it so much more clearly now.

What once used to be a pristine white building, built for the care of the sick and the mentally ill, now stood in a horrible condition. He could make out several smashed windows, dirty and opaque. A lot of the paint had peeled over the years, and several shingles were missing from the roof of the big, haunting, and old building.

Ryan could not bring himself to look away, He stared intensely in both awe and fear at the abandoned hospital.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw what looked like a transparent figure at the window. In the blink of an eye, it was gone. He jumped violently-

 _‘FUCK’_ Ryan shook his head trying to calm down, his heart racing _‘N-no you were just looking at it too hard, it’s alright-’_ he tried to reassure himself.

-All of a sudden he felt himself being _dragged underwater_. He let out a strangled cry as whatever- _whoever_ -the fuck it was kept pulling him under the water-

He gasped in shock and immediately regretted it as he managed to inhale water, his throat and lungs burned for air as he struggled kicking and clawing- trying to resurface but it just kept dragging him down by the ankles pulling with so much strength that He could not escape, His lungs screamed for air and he slowly started to see black spots blurring his sight, now fighting even more desperately. Everything felt so suffocating and he just wanted to _breathe-_

With one last ounce of strength, despite his blurring vision he fought desperately to escape the hold of whatever the fuck was trying to drag him into the murky depths of the lake.

His vision turned pitch black, and then-

He felt nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (thank you so much to my best friend Amy for proof reading this, you awesome hooman UwU )


	5. The ghoul boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I swear there’s something wrong with this place'

Ryan woke up gasping for air.

His vision was a blur of colours and all he could do was cough harshly desperate for air.

He could feel his throat and lungs burn with irritation from his persistent coughs, numbly hearing muffled concerned voices. As he drew sharp ragged breaths, appreciating sweet oxygen more than he’s ever had his life, he realized a hand on his back rubbing it in a weirdly comforting way. His confused mind tried to understand what the _hell_ was even going on. The last thing he remembered was swimming- 

_Oh._

Flashes of a _something_ grabbing his ankles trying pulling it roughly while he screamed and fought desperately, trying not to let it drag him into the dark depths of the lake hit him and he gasped panicking. His hands flailed in a sudden jolt of panic and he grabbed on to the closest thing he could find, seeking some sort of comfort. Somebody wrapped an arm around him, pulling him slightly close. Muffled voices slowly started to make sense, he could hear someone say comforting words managing to make out “ _you’re okay now, its fine Ry-”_

He snapped his neck at the source of the voice blinking blearily. Shanes face hovered inches away from his looking impossibly concerned, his forehead furrowed. He was looking at Ryan with his worried dark brown eyes. Before Ryan could say anything he heard a warm female voice gently speak- “Ryan? How are you feeling?”

He abruptly was made aware of his surroundings and he realized he was so very drenched and freezing. He realized embarrassed as he was leaning on Shane, awkwardly sprawled on the ground, slightly propped up because Shane freaking Madej had his arm around Ryan holding him in a slightly elevated position. Before he could die of mortification Miss Aaliyah called out his name again, he turned to peer at her assessing the fact that she too looked drenched, her curls wet.

_‘She must have jumped in to pull me out’_ he thought as he quietly replied- “I’m fine…” with a weak smile. She gave him a pointed look and making sure he was alright and began firmly belittling him about not sticking close to the shore. Ryan just nodded mutely, dimly aware that campers were gathering around them. He saw Jen looking at him worriedly and Dylan looking at him with a similar expression beside her.

“W-what even happened?” he asked so very _confused_ at the events that had preceded. Miss Aaliyah paused for a second and answered- “Well Shane here heard you scream out and saw that you disappear underwater” she said sighing slightly in relief - “Thankfully he was quick to alert me and I managed to dive in fast enough and pull you to the shore. It was probably a strong current…” she said trailing off slightly as if she was unsure, “Can you remember what happened Ryan?”

Ryan hesitated- what was he supposed to say? That something grabbed his ankles and proceeded to _drown_ him? He did not want to seem more insane than he already acted, so he shifted his eyes and muttered “I don’t remember…”

Miss Aaliyah didn’t look any less worried but she gave Ryan a small tired smile- “We should get you to the infirmary to get you checked” she began and Ryan started to protest “There will be no excuses, we need to make sure your fine alright Ryan?” he nodded reluctantly. “Shane do you mind escorting Ryan over there?” before Ryan could interject, Shane replied much too quick for ryans tastes- “Sure thing!” and Aaliyah nodded satisfied and walked away towards the other campers shooing them away from where some of them were crowding around Ryan. He nodded at Jens questioning look, mouthing _‘I’m fine’_ she however didn’t look less worried.

Ryan tried to push himself upright, trying to stand up. He stumbled miserably, still a bit disoriented, and nearly fell on his face but a surprisingly strong hand grabbed him back and he gasped in both relief and surprise.

“Whoa there little guy” Shane chuckled in amusement, and Ryan could bang his head against a wall in humiliation, _‘get it together Bergara-’_ he mentally cursed at himself, face flushing red as he tried to push Shane away feebly “I’m fine Madej, I can walk on my own” he hissed sharply, but immediately felt his legs give out beneath him. “For fucks sake Ryan your still shaken, just let me _help_ you-” Shane said in a slightly frustrated tone, barely catching Ryan again.

“Like I said I’m _fine_ ” Ryan argued futilely. “Don’t make me carry you to the infirmary Bergara” Shane challenged playfully, smiling that stupid cocky smile at Ryan. Ryan glared daggers at Shane warning “you wouldn’t dare-”

Ryan yelped as Shane scooped him up as if he weighed nothing and stalked towards the direction of the infirmary laughing obnoxiously at Ryan vehemently cursing at him. Ryan could feel his face burning and at this point, he just wanted to dig a hole and die of eternal mortification. He could see Jen over the distance behind Shane's shoulders, she was shaking with uncontrollable laughter. She winked at Ryan and mouthed something at him that he couldn’t quite make out but responded with a deadly glare at her.

 _Goddammit_ one of these days he was going to kill Shane Madej and annoying dumbass, he thought scowling at Shanes off-key nonchalant whistling. For a second he remembered the feel of being pulled into the cold water and he stiffened, he knew he wasn’t imagining it- he knew.

“Ryan?” Shane's voice was surprisingly gentle as he called Ryan’s name. Ryan looked at him, and Shane continued "you okay? You look kinda spooked…”

“I-yeah” Ryan replied shakily avoiding Shanes questioning eyes determinedly. There’s no way he wanted to be mocked for something he knew and believed that happened. Shane didn’t pry further.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryan sat in the small infirmary after the nurse made sure he was all good. For some reason Shane was still standing there leaning against the wall, with a thoughtful expression, staring at what seemed like an invisible point on the wall. Ryan cleared his thought trying to catch his attention and Shane immediately turned towards him.

“Why are you still here Madej?” Ryan asked. “you know you can leave right?" and Shane gave a weak shrug as if that answered his question. He raised his eyebrow at Shane and Shane shifted mumbling- “just wanted to make sure you were fine…”

“What?” Ryan snorted incredulously “since when do _you_ care?” and Shane looked at Ryan in slight surprise-

“Ryan I know I’m an asshole, but that doesn’t mean I want you to die!” he said indignation colouring his tone, before hastily adding- “or anyone else for that matter “Ryan just stared it him in surprise, not really expecting him to say that.

He looked at Ryan guiltily with his dark brown eyes before hesitantly beginning “listen Ryan I just wanted to say I didn’t mean to insult you like that yesterday, I’m sorry alright?” he fidgeted where he stood, hoping Ryan wasn’t still pissed off.

Now that caught Ryan _way_ off guard and he laughed wheezily “Are you _apologizing_ to me?” he exclaimed, laughing harder when he saw Shane blush and look at him with what was probably meant to be a glare, “Is the great sasquatch lord saying sorry?” Ryan continued grinning, teasing Shane.

Shane huffed “Don’t push it short stuff...” he said, trademark cocky smile in place but looking flustered nevertheless.

“I’ll have you know I’m 5’10” Ryan rebutted “you’re the one who’s a _giant_ ”

“5’10? I highly doubt that. Why _Ryan_ how could you _lie_ so?” Shane said directing an extremely fake theatrical look of disbelief at him and Ryan rolled his eyes-

“ _Fine_ I’m 5’9 and ¾ alright? But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a walking _tree_ ” he said with a giggle.

Shane shook his head with a small smile before turning a little serious, “Soo- what happened in the lake Ryan?” and Ryan froze, turning his gaze away.

He knew he was going sound bonkers. “Look Shane I know you don’t believe a shred of what I say but I _**swear**_ there’s something wrong with this place” he peered at Shane with slightly pleading eyes “I know you think this is all _completely normal-”_

“listen” Shane interjected sighing “I **do** believe in you,” he said softly, and Ryan’s eyes widened with disbelief “but I do not think it’s a _ghost_ or even a _demon_ ” Shane continued. He paused staring intently at Ryan “but there’s something shady about the whole place...”

Ryan felt hopeful, maybe Shane would believe him. He hesitated and began “Shane- listen” he paused unsure of how to continue “I know you probably think this is crazy, but back in the lake I felt _something_ pull me down...”

Shanes face remained blank. ‘He’s probably going to tell me that I’m just imagining things’ Ryan thought-feeling dumb, ‘if only I could just prove it somehow-’

Wait. He could remember the distinct feel of something holding on to his ankles. His eyes widened and he cut Shane off when he opened his mouth to say something – “It grabbed me by the ankles and dragged me down, see look here-”

Shane watched baffled and amused as Ryan stood on one foot, slightly wobbly, and proceeded to stick out the other, his amusement quickly dissolved into pure confusion as his vision zoned on what seemed to be dark bruises on Ryan’s ankle. They distinctly looked like marks left by _fingers._

_‘What the actual fuck?’_ Shane thought perplexed. _‘What is even happening?’_ being the skeptical person he was,his mind came up with at least several logical explanations. But that was just plain _bewildering_ to just happen randomly _._

He looked at Ryan sitting tensely, seeing the fear evident in the shorter teens' eyes and tried to reassure him - “Look Ryan” he sighed “I don’t have a single clue about what to say about this. But I’ll tell you what somethings not right here” he walked a bit closer to where Ryan stood and gingerly placed a hand on Ryan’s shoulder “we’ll figure out whatever the hells going on alright? I don’t think I can just blindly believe in anything it’s just the way I’ve always been. But no I don’t think you’re ‘crazy’ and I do _genuinely_ think that there’s something fishy about this.”

“We’ll figure it out! That’s what the ghoul boys are made for” Shane said giving Ryan an exaggerated wink, Ryan laughed shakily “plus I’m not leaving your club until you show me some ghosties” he teased poking Ryan the shoulder playfully, and Ryan rolled his eyes suppressing a smile.

“Thanks, Shane,” he said hopefully looking at Shane with his pretty golden-brown eyes and smiling, almost looking fond. Shanes heart fluttered.

“No problem short stack” Shane grinned as he walked towards the door, Ryan following suit.

“Hey I told you I am _NOT short_ -” came back the expected reply and Shane just laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter I've written so far and I'm afraid they keep growing in word count loll.  
> I'm probably going to have to increase the number of chapters I'm writing, I'm so sorry if its annoying :c  
> I'm sleep deprived and done with the fact my exams are coming up lmao.  
> my next update will be in the beginning of next month as I'm unfortunately buried in school work. :((((((  
> \- DO leave me a comment and some love :))) -  
> imma NEED that motivation


	6. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, boy was he in deep for Ryan bergera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter I've written so far OwO  
> DO LEAVE A COMMENT TO LEMME KNOW WATCHU THINK HUEHUEHUEHEU :D  
> please let me know if there's any kind of error or something of the sort, I usually typed in a very sleep deprived state in 3 AM and this chapter isnt beta read.

Turns out Ryan wasn’t the _only_ one who felt something yank him down the lake.

How does he know?

Because it happened _again._

He sat in the mess hall, trying to ignore the spike of fear he felt when he saw a sobbing boy and shivering pale girl sitting quietly in the corner wrapped in thick fuzzy blanket that seemingly did nothing to stop them from shivering in fear and shock. He watched as miss Aaliyah tried to soothe them and placed two steaming mugs next to them. They hadn’t lost consciousness as he had, she had quickly spotted their heads disappear underwater and dived after them.

The boy, with tear his filled dark eyes-sputtered incomprehensible sentences about something, drags him by the leg between heaving sobs. The little girl seemed to shrink even more to herself quietly in fear, with a glazed look in her eye.

It was an understatement to say the lifeguard was confused.

Richard paced nervously were he stood, looking even more tired than Ryan had seen him worry etched in his tanned face. There was a strange dark glint in his eyes as he gazed out the window of the mess hall in the vague direction of the Waverly hills hospital that stood in little distance shrouded by mist.

Ryan glanced at Shane who sat across the table from him. Shane sat with an arm on the table propping up his chin with a thoughtful expression, He was frowning slightly as his eyes tracked Richard across the room.

Shane turned his head catching Ryan’s gaze by surprise, and giving him a quick wink and smile. Ryan fought the urge to blush furiously as he quickly looked away avoiding Shanes gaze.

The room seemed to melt in the atmosphere of confusion and tension and Ryan just wanted to get out of there as quick as possible, feeling bone-tired and weary after the day, confused about what to think about all the weird shit going on here.

He heard Richard announce that they will not be using the lake for further camp activities with a sharp tone which caught him by surprise and abruptly stalk out of the room. Ryan caught a glimpse of a thin brunette lady with large hoop earrings, her form wrapped in a gauzy shawl, standing at the door peering at the people inside the hall.

Her gaze fell on the two kids swaddled in blankets and her blank face twisted into something bitter and sour. She glared silently at Richard and followed him out of the room. He subconsciously noted that he was the only one who seemed to be watching their heated exchange of words before Richard shut the door behind him.

Miss Aaliyah sighed and stared at the crowd of campers and counselors in the hall looking at her with expectant eyes for a reason. She smiled tired and unsurely talked about how the currents of the lake were unexpectedly strong and it was unsafe to swim in at the moment, and reassuring the two children that their parents will arrive soon to take them home if they didn’t feel like staying.

“Was it really not a spirit?” a young voice suddenly asked from the crowd taking her by surprise

“I heard that two girls died there” another voice piped up, and before she could figure out what to say, and a cacophony of questions and conspiratorial whispers broke out in the room amongst the campers, as a helpless Aaliyah watched on.

“It must have been the Sallie demon” someone spoke confidently among the whispers

All heads turned to the source of the statement, he watched bemused and surprised as Marcus from his own cabin stood up dramatically, startling Dylan beside him who was preoccupied with a book.

“The Sallie demon” he repeated looking pleased with the audience “This camp is haunted by this demon, people have seen it take the form of a little girl and walk around the camp,” he said in a low ominous tone

“How do you know?” somebody asked curiously and he shrugged looking sheepish “there’s tons of stuff on the internet about this place, loads of old campers have seen a young girl near the lake”

Of course, Ryan knew about this, the stories had been the reason he wanted to come after all. He watches Shane stifle a snort at the mention of ‘Sallie’ and gave him a swift kick under the table but only managed to brush his knee, causing him to shake harder with controlled laughter. Ryan couldn’t help but slightly giggle at his antics,mentally cursing at the giant goof.

Technically speaking that was far from the fact that Sallie was, in fact, a real person who was part of a mostly covered up tragedy, but this was the internet and of course, it would stem stories like this. He thought about what he’d read about the repeated sightings various apparitions around the property by both locals and old campers, and the theory of the apparent demon. It was quite a popular theory though he couldn’t quite get the origins.

He was so caught up he didn’t notice that there was now a heated buzz of conversation in the room. People talking about everything they knew about the camp or some crazy story and frankly, it was too much for his tired state. He softly exhaled trying to avoid the growing noise in the hall, feeling a phantom burn from the finger-shaped bruises on his ankle.

Miss Aaliyah tried to shush the room quickly and spoke loudly, cutting through the chaotic noise- “No there are no such things as demons over here guys” she said exasperated and stern.

“Don’t go around scaring yourself and the others with stories-you can all head to your cabins now” she paused and added “Please refrain from swimming in the lake under any circumstances alright? You can talk to me if you need anything at all” she ended with a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, which shone with worry and exhaustion.

Ryan stood up quickly to walk out and was quickly followed by Shane by his side. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned slightly to meet Shane, whose face was slightly tilted in a questioning way as though to ask _‘you okay?’._ Ryan nodded gratefully, a small smile tugging on the corners of his lips as he walked out into the chill of the night air outside.

“So-” Shane started abruptly as they walked, “I guess people are really eating up that demon theory huh?”

Ryan rolled his eyes and lightly smacked him on the arm “it’s just, there's something haunting about this place, that I can’t put my finger on.” Ryan muttered “It wasn’t just me that got dragged underwater- and no don’t tell me it was just a feeling Shane,” He said noticing Shane opening his mouth to interrupt.

“We don’t have any connection between any of these incidents though” Shane pointed out

“Yeah we do, the lake” Ryan stated looking Shane in the eye “we found the sleeping bags in the lake too remember”

Shane laughed suddenly and Ryan looked at him with an unimpressed expression “oh I wasn’t laughing at you” Shane said chuckling at Ryan’s indignant stare “it’s just- are you saying that the demons are living underwater?”

Ryan snorted “ _Shut up_ dude- I didn’t say it was a _demon_ ”

“It was heavily implied,” Shane said dryly “what else did your nutty believer brain come up with then, an underwater lake monster?”

He let out a bark of laughter when he saw Ryan blush and turn his gaze away- “Oh my god, you think our old pal Nessie did it?” Ryan glared weakly at him trying to fight off a smile, he shoved Shane half-heartedly – “No Shane I’m not saying _Nessie_ did it, I may as well suggest bigfoot then-”

“Oh _Ryan_ don't bring him to this, I’ll have you know I have big respect for our friend bigfoot,” Shane said looking so serious Ryan had to laugh, a warm feeling bubbling up in his chest that he couldn’t quite describe. The light moonlight illuminated Shanes outline, Ryan could see his eyes shining with mirth and warmth and his dark brown eyes shone in the dim light.

He turned away-trying to make sense of the sudden fondness that rushed to him, feeling his cheeks threatening to blush, he cleared his throat and continued “anyway, we should definitely ask around about the camp, to make sense about the things that have happened here from people viewpoint”

Shane made a considering ‘hmm’ sound “That’s not a bad idea but id doubt you’d get a lot out of it considering there’s been a cover-up of sorts as you say.”

“We could ask Ellisa,” Ryan said quickly “she’s been Richards assistant for a couple of years now- she would know”

“Huh, I didn’t know that” Shane mused out loud “we should definitely ask her that tomorrow though, I’m ready to kick some ghoul butt”. He moved his hands wildly like what seemed to be a poorly executed karate-chop. Ryan laughed at his antics and let the fear and confusion he felt that day ebb away slowly as he listened to Shane talk animatedly about something while they walked amidst the night air.

* * *

“Ellisa?” Ryan called timidly, poking his head through the ajar door of the main office. He looked around the empty office taking in the wooden walls and several pictures, old and new of both the camp and the Waverly hills hospital. His eyes caught the glint of a plaque on one of the doors-

**‘Richard. S.G’**

_Director and owner_

As he squinted he could see the G was actually crudely carved on the end of ‘Richard.S’, barely noticeable. He opened the main door a little further nervously and took a step further.

_“boo”_

Ryan gave a high pitch shriek and jumped at the sudden word spoken near his ear, eyes widening incuriously as he saw Shane wheezing clutching his stomach, doubled over in laughter.

“Not cool dude” Ryan gasped out, glaring murderously at the hysterical Shane “that scared the fuck out of me- “

“I K-know” Shane managed to say between laughs, “that was hilarious”

“Don’t do that again” Ryan huffed, face burning

“I make no promises Boogara”

Ryan shook his head exasperated and walked towards the door Shane following suit, He paused and raised his hand to knock on the door.

“I thought we were looking for Elissa?” Shane said abruptly causing Ryan to pause.

“Well she isn’t at her desk, I just thought maybe Richard would know where she is” Ryan shrugged rapping his knuckles against the door.

“Come in” they heard Richard say voice very strained, and he turned the doorknob and stepped in.

_Blood_

Ryan gasped in fear and backed away at the sight of red-stained carpet and the burn of the coppery smell. The entire room was in complete disarray and was covered in splatters of scarlet. Richard stood tense with clenched fists and dark eyes in front of his desk staring the part of the wooden wall with sharp scratches etched into the wood. _‘They were words’_ his mind helpfully supplied him.

On the wooden wall was a scratched out message reading _\- ‘Death haunts this place, and more_ **_will_ ** _die’_

His heart skipped a beat at a small scratched out _‘Sallie’_ after the eerie threat.

“What the fuck-” he heard Shane exclaim, causing Richard to turn to them towards surprise, his dyed blonde hair wild and in disarray.

“Oh,” he said, “I thought you were- Never mind that what are _you_ guys doing here?” He said an accusatory edge to his voice.

Ryan could only gape at the sight and he turned baffled to look at Shane who looked equally agitated as him. “What happened here?” Shane asked incredulously looking at Richard for answers.

“Vandalism” Richard said far too quickly “Nothing to worry about, I’ll take care of it”

“D-don’t worry about it? There’s _blood_ on the- well _everywhere_ ” Ryan nearly yelled gesturing wildly at the state of the place.

“I’ve called the cops, there’s nothing more to do, so I suggest you leave” Richard gritted out a dark tone to his voice that seemed so weird coming from the nice friendly man Ryan first met.

He felt Shane tug him by the elbow and gesture to the main door, his eyes sharp and glaring with suspicion directed at Richard. They quickly leave the room and Ryan felt much easier to breathe again, shaken and confused from what he’d just witnessed.

“ _Dude-”_ He managed to rasp out “What just happened?”

“I have no fucking clue,” Shane said, sounding so completely lost for the first time, and Ryan didn’t like that tone one bit.

“Guys?” They both turn to see Ellisa walk towards them, holding her clipboard loosely in one hand “What’s going on? You two look spooked”

In less than a minute they’d finished rambling out exactly what happened but to their surprise, she didn’t look the least bit taken aback with the news

“It’s-well it’s not the first time someone’s trashed one of the camp buildings,” she said her voice lowered a conspiratorial hush. Ryan shot her pleading brown eyes to continue and she sighed “I don’t know what to tell you, but things like this have been going on for all the years I’ve been here.”

“Things getting sabotaged, random vandalism, People talk about seeing a pale girl walk around- This place is completely bonkers” she huffed “I’ve seen the weirdest shit happen here honestly.”

“Can you think of anyone who’d dislike Richard enough to do stuff like this?” Shane asked curiously, and Ellisa hesitated “Well the only one I _can_ think of would be his Ex-wife...”

“They’ve been divorced since around the time I first started working here, and she absolutely _hates_ this place, she makes it a point to come around at least a couple of times to keep warning him that this was a _‘cursed land’”_ Ellisa recalled out loud, tapping her fingers absentmindedly on her clipboard “She’s a self-proclaimed psychic and apparently she’s seen and heard spirits talk to her over here. In fact, she was actually here yesterday again, yelled at Richard about the consequences of not abandoning this place or something like that” Ryan remembered the woman at the door of the mess hall yesterday, wrapped in her gauzy shawl and her Thin disapproving face.

“So she’s basically she’s a total nutjob” Shane abruptly stated earning a sharp jab to the ribs from Ryan’s elbow and a quickly hissed _‘shut up Shane’_

“Weeell” Ellisa dragged the word “Mostly yes- I wouldn’t point fingers at anyone but boy she gets hysterical; I’ve seen her scream threats at the top of her lungs at Richard in front of plenty of people”

“If she’s that bad why doesn’t he just get a restraining order already” Ellisa grimaced at that and shook her head

“I’ve told him to do that many times, believe me, it’s mostly the fact that this place requires a lot of money to run and if a restraining order makes Kristina- that’s her name by the way -go ballistic. There’s no telling the Crazy rumors she could cook up, it’s already got a bad reputation of being haunted, if people seriously stop coming here its bad news for Richard. He pays a lot to keep the place well running” she sighed rubbing her temple slightly “Kristina- well she’s a little insane when it comes to what she will do to get this place to shut down, but again I don’t really want to point any fingers” With that she gave them both a small smile and walked away, leaving the two boys to stand awkwardly.

“Well- I think we found our guy Ryan,” Shane said with a sudden bark of a laugh and Ryan rolled his eyes with a small smile whacking Shanes arm “Shut up Shane” He shifts his gaze “We can’t just jump to conclusions alright?”

“Ryan from what we just heard that seems like a very possible conclusion, she sounds toxic,” Shane said scrunching his nose “It’s either that or its Richard himself”

“Richard-?” Ryan cocked an eyebrow “What would he have to gain from ruining his own property-Oh!” he exclaimed eyes lighting up “Insu-”

“-rance” Shane finished with a grin “Exactly Bergara- If he was financially struggling, this could possibly be his best way of getting money off a place nobody really wants to buy.”

“But what about the lake? Shane, I _know_ something dragged me underwater.”

Shane scratched his neck thoughtfully “Maybe- that doesn’t have anything to do with this-” he shrugged. “The vandalism and the thing with the sleeping bags, all the random fires, and destroyed stuff through the years -probably just the work of an angry Ex.”

“Maybe...” Ryan mumbled not really sounding convinced. He looked peered up at Shane with an impossibly intense look, not angry, not upset, but with some emotion, Shane couldn’t figure out. He watched mesmerized as Ryan slowly tilted his head with a small smile playing on his lips “let’s go back to the cabin and try to go over everything we know, maybe come up with more theories” Ryan said now grinning at Shane with an infectious enthusiasm, and not for the first time his heart fluttered for the sheer bundle of brightness that was Ryan Bergara.

Ryan beckoned Shane to follow him as he walked away but Shane stayed rooted to where he was, trying to ignore how just standing next to Ryan now made him feel.

“you coming, Big guy?” He heard Ryan call out softly, the new nickname making him flush slightly.

“Y-yeah I’m coming” Shane announced, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, suddenly Uncomfortably aware of how his mind tended to notice every little thing about Ryan for no particular reason 

Oh, boy was he in **_deep_ ** for Ryan bergera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Do let me know how your liking the story so far!  
> I really hope I'm not doing a crappy job of typing/writing this fic out!  
> Hope you guys are staying safe and happy!  
> -ANNA


	7. past pretender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane nudged his side, peering at him with concern, he shook his head and turned his gaze back to Richard, who was gazing coolly at the direction of the lake, face blank.
> 
> And that’s when they saw him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM BACK AND EXTREMLEY SORRY  
> I Got stuck with exams and projects and other works but i swear im neveR abandoning this baby-  
> I hope ya like this chapter :DD Lemme know what you think!

“So let’s go over the suspects, shall we?”

“You sound like a cheesy detective from a fucking 90 sitcom…” Ryan mumbled, idly kicking a rock “And why do we have to stand here for that?”

“Because I just saw Richard sneak away from the mess hall, and I think he was headed over here” Shane explained impatiently. “I don’t trust him one bit, and I’d like to keep an eye on him before someone else gets hurt”. It had been approximately two and a half days after they’d seen the bloody vandalised office, and Richard had been acting snappier than he already was, constantly on edge.

It was unnerving how much weirder things got in a span of mere two days. Soon some freaked out campers began to report sightings of a girl decked in white, with silvery hair, which didn’t seem to help the panic and Ryan with his theory that the camp was in fact haunted by sallie’s spirit.

Just that morning at breakfast, Elissa had opened the doors to the mess hall to a horrifying sight, blood splatters all over the walls, and much to Ryan’s fear the name was once again present among the various threats. This distressed the campers to no ends and the apparently police had been called, but Shane didn’t see anyone arrive, much to his growing distrust. He managed to keep track of Richard throughout the day, and apart from a few discreet hushed phone calls he didn’t seem to attempt to do anything else.

He glanced at the smaller boy standing beside him, anxiously looking around, his dark curls a complete mess. They had been standing not far away from where the Waverley hills building was and Ryan was a nervous mess, which amused Shane to no end. He was pretty sure they wouldn’t get into trouble unless they actually trespassed into the building, and besides it was a necessity to tail Richard and find out whatever shady deed he was up to.

He saw Ryan shiver beside him, and shook his head in exasperation “I did tell you should get your jacket, it’s pretty chilly today” he squinted up at the sky “So much for a sunny summer…”

“I’m fine” Ryan grumbled “and for the record, you literally dragged me across camp before I could grab mine” he looked about, peering at the long thin thicket of trees surrounding them apprehensively “I don’t like this, didn’t some kids say that they saw a that uh- girl walk towards this direction”

“All the more reason to be here” Shane shrugged “tracking two leads at once? Good job detective boogara” he snorted at the mock disgusted look on Ryan’s face “Anyway, let’s get to the point who’ve we got so far in the suspects list?”

Ryan hummed in thought “Number one: we’ve got Richard obviously; he could be doing this as an excuse to get insurance for damages, definitely hasn’t taken much action on the shit that’s happened and constantly acts like he’s hiding something”

“Definitely sus” Shane nodded and ignored Ryan rolling his eyes. He seemed to do that a lot of late, but in a more fonder way, Shane grinned at the change “Number two: Kristina, the ex-wife, clearly holds something against Richard, claims the place is haunted, and desperately wants Richard to get rid of the place”

Ryan nodded “Number three: it could just be a camper pulling pranks, but then again the vandalising does seem pretty extreme...”

“And according to Ellisa its been going on for quite a while- the vandalism and all the random weird stuff”

“I think it’s either Kristina or Richard” Shane said with certainty “Maybe even the both of them together, who knows”

“So your proposing they’ve been working together all this time?” Ryan asked, scrunched his nose “That seems a little far-fetched of a theory to me”

Shane turned to him incredulously “Even more far-fetched than ghosts?!” He teased, laughing at Ryan’s embarrassed sputters of defence “I’m just saying from what we’ve heard he’s definitely not opposed to meeting her when she pays him a visit”

The shorter boy merely shrugged “I guess…”

They stood amidst the rustling trees, a soft cold breeze whistling through the air, making Ryan shiver even more. Shane keeping a lookout for Richard, leaning against a tree lazily, while Ryan internally panicked, afraid and anxious that he’d spot something out of the ordinary watching them.

“I hate this” he grumbled “can’t we walk around? See if we can spot Richard somewhere else?”

Shane turned his gaze to Ryan “I guess? I did see him head this way, thought if we hurried we’d catch him- well doing something unethical”

“And what exactly do we do when we find something illegal? Call the police and hope they’d believe in us?”

“Well” Shane paused, he hadn’t exactly thought that far, this whole thing at the beginning was just an excuse to get to know Ryan better of course. Now it was clear that something very mysteriously weird was bubbling up quickly, and he really wanted to figure it out, before somebody else got hurt “Yes, I guess that’s all we can do”

Ryan didn’t exactly feel reassured by that, fidgeting nervously from where he stood, he finally decided to walk away, maybe He’d have better luck finding Richard that way.

A hand grabbed his wrist, and he looked around to see Shane- looking a little concerned “Where are you off to little guy?”

“To-find Richard? I thought we’d have better luck if we split up or something?” he was anxious of course, but he just wanted to get this over with.

“No, let’s just stick together” Shane muttered, not very keen on letting Ryan wander about on his own, especially after what had happened at the lake. He could still remember the surge of panic when he couldn’t find Ryan’s mop of unruly dark hair above water, and the way his heart stopped when they’d brought him ashore- pale and barely breathing.

He didn’t think there was a supernatural force behind that at all however strange it was, but he didn’t want to leave Ryan’s side nevertheless. He realised he’d been awkwardly holding Ryan’s hand for a good couple of seconds in silence and let go, scratching his neck sheepishly.

“You’d really rather go around here all alone?” Shane teased weakly, earning a huff from Ryan, who shook his head “Well-no…”

“Alright then, I’ll come with you” Shane stated, pulling Ryan with him without further preamble, chuckling at the adorable small squeak of surprise the shorter boy made.

They strolled through the path, heading closer towards the sanatorium, leafs softly crunching under their feet. Every second that passed, Ryan grew more anxious than he already was, wrapping his arms around himself, partly from the cold, and partly a weak attempt to calm himself down.

Shane glanced at the other teen, resisting the urge to pull the idiot into a warm hug. He opened his mouth to make a usual scathing comment but froze, rooted to the spot. He heard Ryan gasp, stilling beside him as well.

They’d seen something.

Or specifically someone.

He stared in utter bafflement, shock crashing through him like a wave, for a split second a figure all decked out in white ran through the bushes, long ghastly silvery hair flowing freely behind them, he blinked turning to Ryan only to see him pale and trembling.

Without hesitation he grabbed Ryan’s hands, pulling him along with him yet again, after the figure which eerily seemed to have vanished towards the direction of the sanatorium. Ryan let himself be dragged along, to limp and afraid to think straight, crashing onto Shane when he abruptly stopped.

“Wha-?” he found himself whispering weakly, before Shane shushed him, wrapping a strong arm around Ryan’s waist to steady him pulling him snug against Shane. Despite the confused and haze of fear clouding his head, he flushed red, heat flooding to his cheeks. 

Shaking the thoughts of his head to try and comprehend was what was happening, he peered through the gaps between the trees where Shane seemed to be peering intently at a very familiar figure someone.

Richard was leaning against one of the long old square columns of the building almost right in front of him, which Ryan had never seen so up-close. It stood looking remarkably sturdy and at the same time like it could collapse under a breeze. The plaster on the walls was cracked, revealing the brick underneath. Long creepers winded their way up on certain spots, adding to the ancient haunted feel of the whole place.

Waverly hills sanatorium looked straight out of something Ryan would see in a horror film, but at the light of the day it looked more sad than scary, still managing to unsettle him. He shot a brief glance at the many, dirty cracked windows, remembering the figure he’d seen there from the lake, and inhaled sharply.

Shane nudged his side, peering at him with concern, he shook his head and turned his gaze back to Richard, who was gazing coolly at the direction of the lake, face blank.

And that’s when they saw him.

Ryan tugged at Shanes sleeve as a tall man walked out of the trees. He had a very pale complexion, a simple white button down shirt, tucked into jeans accessorised with a tie. He walked stiffly, light blue eyes burning with slight anger, directed at Richard. His light brown hair ruffled, the other man turned to him.

Richard smiled, slowly- sly and playful, and Ryan blinked in confusion. Suddenly the man looked very different, almost wicked. Nothing like the friendly, placid man Ryan had seen in the beginning of the camp. He didn’t move from where he stood, acknowledging the other man with a taunting tone “Tinsley!” he grinned, all gleaming teeth “To what do I owe the pleasure Detective?”

The taller man didn’t stop until he was all up in Richards space, glaring down at him, faces just a few inches apart “You know exactly why I’m here  _ Goldsworth _ , you called me here”

Ryan looked over at Shane, eyes wide and confused.  _ ‘Goldsworth?’  _ he mouthed, and Shane shrugged looking equally baffled  _ ‘Detective? _ ’ the taller boy mimed back, forehead creased in concentration, looking back intently at the two men.

Richards lips curled into a snarl “Don’t call me that” he seethed.

“Or what?” The man- Tinsley smirked “I thought you liked that name, doesn’t sound fake  _ at all _ ”

“Oh shut up” Richard grumbled “I don’t go by that anymore and you know it”

“Do I?” Tinsley raised an eyebrow “If I recall there isn’t much I actually know about you Ricky, just that you’re a liar, a man who’s very used to getting what he wants”

Richard, or well ‘Ricky’ leaned forward, placing a hand on Tinsley’s chest, eyes glittering “you’d remember the last part wouldn’t _ y _ ou” he whispered teasingly, and the taller man flushed Scarlett.

Ryan watched uncomfortably, very aware he was intruding on something very private and something way too intimate for him to be spying on, he spared a quick glance at Shane to see the teen still looking intently at the pair, his eyes narrowed.

Richard slowly grasped at Tinsleys tie, twirling it around his hand "Let’s get to the  _ point,  _ It seems like I need your help, there's been a small problem" 

If tinsley was affected by that, he sure had a good poker face. The taller man reached out to take Richard's wrist, or well-  _ ricky's _ wrist, pulling it away sharply to glower down at him "Let me  _ guess- _ some of your old  _ clients _ caught up to you? Old drug dealing days finally came back to bite you in the ass? Well I'm  _ not _ falling for it again- you brought this upon yourself Goldsworth…"

Ricky grinned "Pretty sure I took care of all of them, I'm talking about the camp Tinsley. Things are acting up again, and i'm not sure it's all a prank anymore…" he paused, looking away "This is seriously concerning-"

Tinsley laughed bitterly "I think that crazy woman you 'married', if  _ that's _ even true- might be getting to your head with her stories. I thought you were smarter than this Ricky" 

"This isn't about her, kids have been fucking  _ drowning _ . Its like somethings pulling them down, that's what they keep telling us-”

“Its a lake, there's bound to be something- and you know kids, they have an overactive imagination” Tinsley sighed “Now if you'll excuse me I have an actual job to get to, I dont have the time to entertain your shit”

“The houseman twins” Richard muttered, and tinsley stiffened “This has something to with them”

The detective gaped for a few moments before frowning “But- that happened  _ years  _ ago- No one even knows what-”

“I know” Richard shook his head “It's always been about the incident, everything started after that happened-” he paused “I- I wouldn’t have believed it but whoever's doing this is extremely adamant on hurting somebody seriously this time. I think someone knows”

“....Are you positive?”

“Obviously not” he scoffs “but why the hell would someone be so fucking invested on reminding me about this, especially like this?”

They are speaking in more hushed, quieter tones now and shane steps closer to catch what they are saying, breathing erratically at what he’d heard so far. He felt Ryan tug at his sleeve insistently but he ignored that. Just a little bit closer and-

A sharp crack resonated through the air when he accidently stepped on a dry twig, and his eyes widened as the men turned towards them in a hurry, Ryan tugging at his sleeve roughly as he pulled him behind the bush.

“What the fuck was that?” they heard CC hiss from a little far, ryan quickly came at him with startled wide eyes as he quickly crawled through the shrubbery. Shane made haste to follow the shorter boy, heart beating faster when he heard dull footsteps approach them.

“Probably nothing” Ricky muttered, sounding unsure “Your just being a wuss”

He could vaguely hear them erupt into a renewed bickering as he crawled away, taking a deep breath to calm down.

There was something heavily morbid going on here, and he he didn’t like where it was headed one fucking bit.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *coughs*  
> Suprised? ;) 
> 
> Anywhoos big hug to y'all and I will try my darndest best to put the next chapter out soon i swear :") 
> 
> ALSO IF ANYONE IN THE SERVER SEES THIS I LOVE YALL AND MISS YALL AND I WILL COM BACC SOON IM just swamped with work rn :(((  
> [ Hi poppu :)]


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